Anjarana Ramaya, 30, was from Odisha’s Ganjam district.
Thirty-year-old Anjarana Ramaya from Odisha’s Ganjam district had been working with a construction company in Moscow for over a year, sending money back home to help his family renovate and expand their modest house. He had been back home recently, reaching in time for Maha Shivratri celebrations and staying until March 22. The youngest of four siblings, he was regularly in touch with the family, but on Saturday night, there was no call.
In the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, Ukraine unleashed its largest drone strike on Russia since the war between the two countries began in February 2022. It killed four people in Moscow, including an Indian citizen — Ramaya. While at least 22 Indians are estimated to have died since the start of the war, this is likely the first Indian casualty in the Moscow region.
Back in Odisha, at Madhabandha village near the border with Andhra Pradesh, Ramaya’s family received the tragic news on Sunday. For his brother, Anjarana Ganesh, the grief was tinged with anger. He said the private agency through which Ramaya got employment in Moscow “did not even bother” to inform the family about the drone attack. “When we asked the agency about my brother, they first expressed ignorance. When more people from our village went there later on Sunday, they told us about his death,” Ganesh told The Indian Express over the phone.
He said the family first learned of the incident when another man from a nearby village, who was also working in Moscow, called them. “I last spoke to Ramaya on Friday night and couldn’t speak to him on Saturday. We came to know about his death on Sunday after a youth from our nearby village, who also works in Moscow, called us to convey the message,” Ganesh said.
A building damaged in Krasnogorsk, in the Moscow region. (Reuters)
Ramaya was unmarried, and the money he sent back home was the main source of income for his parents and siblings. His father and elder brother worked as sharecroppers.
Like many of the young members of economically weak families in his locality, Ramaya had tried for long to leave the village for better employment. He joined a local institute, which gave him some basic technical training and helped him get a job offer with the construction company in Moscow. He grabbed the chance, said his brother, Ganesh.
Ramaya left for Moscow and joined the company in December 2024. The family was aware of the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but after reaching Moscow, Ramaya assured them that everything was normal there. “He used to say there was nothing to worry about as the place where he was working was not that volatile,” said Ganesh.
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Ramaya’s plan was to work for a few years in Russia and save enough money to return to Odisha and start a business, the brother said. In the meantime, he was sending money back home for the construction of another floor on top of the family’s existing house. The construction, however, was still at a nascent stage when the tragedy of Ramaya’s death struck the family.
The family is now urging the government to take steps to bring his mortal remains back to India, and to arrange some form of compensation for his parents.
Ganjam District Collector V Keerthi Vasan said the administration was in touch with the Resident Commissioner’s office in New Delhi and the Indian Embassy in Moscow regarding the matter. He said the Resident Commissioner’s office has initiated action through diplomatic channels, and that efforts are being made to bring Ramaya’s remains back to Odisha at the earliest.
